My wife used to make me a hot drink on a cold day. I told her every day was cold on this planet, so she'd better get used to it. She would laugh and tell me it was too cold to have sex today. I'd better get used to it. I was right. It is always cold here.

~Audris

We ran into a lot of trouble on the way home. You wouldn't believe how many soldiers reacted to the call for backup. It makes me wonder why Calissa traveled with so few soldiers when we went to the hot springs. I wrap my arms around Lenoa. They threw some furs over us and were marching us home. The good news was they managed to track Calissa's location. The bad news was the gangster who fled had told everyone we were to blame for what happened. We were the only survivors.

Who's story would they believe? I had a con-artist under my arm leaning up against me. I wasn't too afraid.

“Think you can talk yourself out of this one?” I jab.

Lenoa looks up at me in disbelief. Her lips were purple.

If you think I was relying on Lenoa, you have made a mistake. Any local would know that. All the soldiers had to do was ask Kaloas. Shasis are pretty good at not lying when pressed for the truth. The good ones don't lie. They'd rather be silent. Once a connection was made with Kaloas, we'd be set. The worst part of it was the freezing walk home. I look over to my left. The gangster was being treated as a criminal as well. The soldiers were taking no chances and not picking sides for now.

Days go by. Things worked out like I had expected. Back at the Snowfell Palace it felt good to take a warm shower. The shower rooms are always crowded, pay for a private stall and you're set. We get tokens and I always have a few extra. Lenoa gives them to me. I'm not too proud of using them. There's a lot of people on the outskirts who would want her dead for pulling her token trick on them. Trickery does catch up with you, but you can't beat a nice hot shower when you're stressed. It's like heaven.

I get out of the shower and put on my clothes. I wrap my jacket and look in the mirror.

“You're losing it, Audris.”

Don't take me seriously. I'm not too bad looking. The stress has taken its toll, but once this whole mess was over, my face would shine again. You know how it is. You go through life and you want to reach that spot where everything is all right. The happy ending of a fairy tale. As I have gotten older I've realized that moment never comes. Life is a constant trial, it's about finding the fairy tale in between the pages.

I wait for Lenoa to get out of the shower. A nearby soldier eyes me. They make sure nothing happens, but I could tell my waiting made him uneasy. I keep waiting and waiting. Finally, I go up to her stall and kick it.

“Get out already! I'm hungry.”

“What the hell, Audris!”

Lenoa murmurs something to herself and her door opens. She looks at me through the crack in the door. “Some privacy?”

It's hard to mention the atmosphere of the Snowfell Palace without mentioning privacy. The whole place is interconnected. You have your room sure, but you're constantly moved or sharing it with others, now that Calissa is gone. It keeps the spies on their toes. There's not always enough bunks to go around either. Everyone sticks to the few people they know. You do everything with each other. Someone has to have your back or be aware of your well-being. If not, the various groups will pick on you or extort things. If you can't get the same room vicinity as your friends, you complain until you get it. Separated you're an easy target now. Calissa always told me morale was hard to keep in the city. Her presence couldn't be everywhere at once. It's toxic always walking on egg shells and also contradictory. We're supposed to be the humans, but we have our packs like the Shasis. No one escapes Elissa Moon.

Lenoa gets changed. I watch the familiar fuzzy brim of her hood flop behind her. She looks up at me and fixes my hair.

“Audris, are you balding?” she mocks

“Get out!” I say. She tries to stay quiet. I'm not anywhere close to balding, to let you know.

We pick up our towels and leave the shower area together. It was time to eat again. Kaloas was leading the way and we find a table. Sitting in one of the many cafeterias feels like a house of mirrors. You can see through the ice pillars so people are always being distorted. The whole place is white, colored by the many jackets and floor mats. There are so many different coats I often wonder how Calissa managed to get her hands on the various furs. The food is all right. It's fresh. Nothing to brag about, unless you won the good stuff at the gambling pits and it's free.

The two of us sit down. I grab a spoon for my porridge. We keep to ourselves. I listen to the occasional laughter behind me. It kind of reminds me of Shingles, except people are more reserved and defensive underneath it all. Who would have thought I would enjoy the company of a friend while eating? Lenoa takes another bite of her food. She got some sandwich thing.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Do you think Calissa is ok?” asks Lenoa.

“No.”

“I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Kaloas.”

“You were talking to me.”

Lenoa always uses Kaloas as her crutch. She was embarrassed about her fears. She was afraid of my proposal. It was strange to me. At first I thought she just wanted what Calissa had to offer. She was the duchess and she had access to many things the average person in the Palace didn't have. The luxuries were nice to have and so was the security. As days passed, Lenoa's concern grew. I knew that Lenoa really looked to Calissa as a friend. She just pretended to want all the stuff, as not to appear vulnerable. It was her way of showing she could look out for herself and Kaloas and wasn't vulnerable. I believe Lenoa when she says she cares. She has a good heart. It just needs to be cleaned and polished. Lenoa tries to change the subject.

“Audris. I haven't had sex in a long long time.”

“Life hasn't fucked you enough?” I shoot back.

Lenoa and I joke a lot. She knows how to annoy me. She says it helps wipe the seriousness from my face. It brings out the child in me, like the fairy tales used to. I never really thought I was over-serious. It just came with the territory of all I had been through. Now, I was about to be serious again. I had plans to rescue Calissa. It was a shambled plan, but I had been saving my money for it instead of spending it like Lenoa. She had to buy Kaloas food, but she's not good at saving.

“We have to save Calissa together,” I rehash.

“Now? How are we? Are you serious? There's no way. Can't we wait?,” moans Lenoa.

“Have you read the fairy tales? One of us will save her. I've come to the conclusion that it's not me. It must be you,” I add.

“Do you really believe that anymore?” Lenoa retorts. She stops with her sandwich in her mouth. She holds it there like a Shasi carrying its prey to distract me. I stare at her. Lenoa stops with the nonsense and looks up at me. Saving Calissa meant going into Mastal territory. That was the last place she wanted to be. It also meant we could die in a horrific way.

“The poem is talking about someone else, Audris. It's not us”

“It's not us? Then who is it? That man over there? What about that clown over there?” I point.

I take another bite of food. “Kaloas agrees with me,” I add.

“No he doesn't.”

Kaloas ears perk up, but his head remains on his paws. He was thinking about how everything would play out. He explains things to me more than Lenoa now. It gets under her skin and I love him for that. It even things out between us.

“I can't wait forever, Lenoa. I'm balding and it's getting colder outside. A poor combination for keeping my head warm,” We stare at each other and she gives a brief grin. I may have been joking, but there was an undertone of anger in my voice. She knew it.

The Mastals still had Calissa. A lot of nasty things could happen in a day.

I become serious again. I get Lenoa to be serious too.

“Listen to me, Lenoa. I'm tired of having a past I hate. It can't continue. I'm making my future so livable that I never look back on this moment with regret. Calissa will bring down the Mastals. In fact, I think she already has. We will win the war, as soon as the home world attacks. However, that's not what I'm worried about.”

I pause.

“The Mastals would have never taken Calissa unless they had use for her. She knew something and if they find out it's game over for us,” I add. “It can all change so quickly and no one seems to realize that.”

Even if the current situation pointed to us as the winner, whatever The Mastals sought in Calissa was sure to turn the tide. I knew this. They needed to get something from her. Kaloas mentioned something about mountains coming to life with fire. The Mastals couldn't find out. The puzzle was still fresh on my mind. It was there all day while I worked. I missed Calissa even if it had only been days. I missed her smile and the smell of her perfume as we worked together. Lenoa interrupts my thoughts.

“Listen Audris. I care about Calissa too. Why can't we just wait a day. What if we die?”

Lenoa was afraid. I think she was more afraid of us being tortured than anything.

“What are you going to do, Lenoa? What if I'm right? Are you going to run away and steal from more people like a coward? This is your chance to have something. This is your chance to rescue Calissa and become a real historic noble, instead of pretending you are. Listen to me, Lenoa. What will you do? Go back to hiding in your jacket and playing in the snow while mourning the death of your friends? What about the Mastals? What if they win? We can't rely on a happy ending.”

Lenoa looks at me calmly. I could tell she was simmering underneath.

“I never asked for a happy ending, Audris.”

We stare at each other for a while. I grab the top of her hand.

“I won't make it back without you. I'm doing this with or without your help. I believe in the fairy tales my parents read me. Kaloas is coming with me.”

Lenoa pretends to ignore me.

I become frustrated. I scrape my bowl of porridge to get every bit of it. Lenoa hates that noise.

“You can't just leave me... and Kaloas is not coming with you,” Lenoa exhales.

Kaloas runs up to me and I pat his head. He didn't like it, but I think we all knew were he stood. He was coming with me. My eyes flash and Kaloas shows me something. I smile.

“Don't worry Kaloas. I won't get Lenoa killed.”

Lenoa sighs and rests her head on the table. She avoids eye contact with me. She was irritated and tired and I knew she would come along. Sometimes you can't hide a good heart no matter how good you are at conning people. The shell of selfishness and fear will always break at the right opportunity to help someone you really care about.

“Lenoa. Look at me”

“What?” she says. I gaze into her beautiful dark blue eyes. I needed Lenoa to turn herself inward and think with her heart, one last time. I continue speaking.

“I'm sneaking out of here tonight. I won't be living here anymore.”

“Can you buy a few things for me before we leave then? I'll meet you outside...” mumbles Lenoa. “I'll help. I know the plan already...a million times. I just want to have my last comforts here.”

“Fine. Yes,” I reply. I bite my tongue. I bite my tongue hard.